Larry Ossei-Mensah, a native of The Bronx, is also a co-founder of ARTNOIR. A global community of culturalists that creates multimodal experiences for today’s vibrant and varied creative class. Through virtual and physical experiences, ARTNOIR seeks to celebrate the artistry and creativity of Black and Brown artists all around the world. As a curator, Ossei-Mensah transforms how we see ourselves and the world by utilizing current art and culture. He has planned shows in New York City’s for-profit and nonprofit galleries that have featured a number of well-regarded emerging and mid-career artists. As well as planned shows all over the globe.
A.S: How do you decide what artists and what works to include in your shows?
L.O: In terms of how I choose, a lot of it is just based on the concepts of the exhibition and really what’s gonna best execute the ideas. Every exhibition is a collaboration with the artists. It’s also, making or creating space for the artist to respond to whatever the prompt is. It’s not necessarily me going into the studio and saying, “I’m gonna pick these five”. It’s a dialogue with the artists to see what’s gonna best address the question that we were trying to explore through the exhibition. Also what’s the best work for that particular opportunity. I tell artists all the time, just because you made it doesn’t mean it’s good, right? So what is the process to edit and make sure that whatever we show is the best possible work reflecting your practice?
A.S: Not necessarily there’s a theme in mind and they begin to create with that theme or you just happen to see what goes in line with that theme you aim for the exhibition?
L.O: It depends on the situation. Sometimes it’s a theme, sometimes I already have something made and I think if it’s a case-by-case basis there is one particular formula.
A.S: You’re a co-founder at Artnoir, what inspired you to start this initiative? What impact do you have in mind for it in the African art community?
L.O: Well, Artnoir has been around for 10 years. It was started to support black and brown artists around the world, making sure that people were aware of their creative expression. For me, it’s an extension of the practice in terms of celebrating writers, visual artists, dancers, and musicians. Making it accessible to all of these artists within all of the spaces. Working in collaboration with an artist, to just do a walkthrough of the exhibition or working in collaboration with a museum, for example, to create tours. It’s really about creating more access and celebrating these creative talents.
In terms of Africa, we’ve done stuff in South Africa, during Black Portraitures, we did some talks and did some dinners in collaboration with artists based there. It’s always about collaboration and just amplifying these voices through the resources in the network.
A.S: It’s been around for 10 years, how would you describe the first 10 years to these last 10 years at which arts has, African arts has really been, I don’t want to say trendy, but finally getting a room in the general global scale of art.
L.O: I mean, I think the last 10 years, we benefit from timing in terms of there being more attention around art from the African diaspora. We want to lean into that. Social media and technology have also amplified that and made it more accessible. Even though you may not be in New York per se, we may post something that gives you a good sense of what’s happening. Or we may do a tour of an exhibition and do it on Instagram Live. Or during COVID, we did the virtual visits, which got you an opportunity to see what it was like to be in another studio. What were they working on? With the aid of technology, we’ve been able to connect more thoughtfully. There are many people that I’ve met through Instagram that I talk to maybe once a week, and I’ve never met or we meet at an art fair. We’re more connected in a way that we weren’t previously.
Now, it’s just kind of making sure that the resources for support is there, whether you are a patron who’s curious about art, an artist who’s trying to get their art out there so collectors can support, a gallery who’s championing the work of these artists, it’s an ecosystem. I think the ecosystem has, for the most part, been attempting to be in service of the artists as much as we are. We’ve started as a group of friends going to see art and we expanded. We gave eight full scholarships to students studying at MFA. We have a micro-grant program where we were able to give away $80,000 to people, cultural workers, and artists who needed it during COVID. The work that we continue to do evolves and expands. We like to think about having a hundred-year plan and this organization and work being done, when we’re no longer here.
A.S: Wow that’s amazing for the community. What impact do you see African arts having on highlighting and fixing social issues within the community?
L.O: I think art has always been, at least in my opinion, an avenue to have a better understanding of the world. I think just by the nature of some artists using materials that are in their communities. If you think about Serge Clavie and him using the water jugs, for example. I think just from a material use standpoint, because depending on where you are, you may not have access to the same level of materials, or you have some people who want to reject the use of traditional art materials in favor of using local things. In favor of things that are in their community. It’s having a huge effect. It’s not necessarily the silver bullet, but I think it opens up the dialogue and the conversation. That’s really what we can ask for because a lot of times there are issues around LGBTQI rights, water rights, land rights, rights for women, but then also just issues around visibility, critique around skin bleaching. There are so many issues that are happening on the continent that artists are tempted to engage in some shape or form. But I think you also have artists who want to just make art, right? And want to express themselves. And so I don’t think every artwork needs to be kind of overtly political, but I think it’s more so about sharing a point of view and how they see the world. Hopefully, that lens opens up a conversation and a dialogue that we want to have, but we maybe are afraid to have or don’t have the words to. Sometimes art can be that intermediary for those conversations.
A.S: That people’s access to materials is also part of the conversation because it is. That in itself informs someone’s perspective. That is another facet of Africa that the world needs to see, that some people just want to create because they want to and they can. What advice would you give an upcoming curator trying to make a difference in the art ecosystem?
Image courtesy of Tatler Asia
L.O: I would say, make sure that you’re engaged with other curators if you can, whether that be in person or virtually, make sure that you’re engaged with artists and that your goal is to be in service of the artist’s actualizing dreams, right? The artist is your partner and your collaborator. I think a lot of times, depending on where you are, you have curators who kind of abuse that. They don’t give artists who are talented a chance. I think how do you be a catalyst in some regard? Also being a curator requires you to be entrepreneurial. Depending on where you live, there isn’t necessarily a formalized infrastructure to support hearings.
How do you work in collaboration with artists, your community, corporations, philanthropists, being creative in terms of the funding sources that you’re able to tap into? it could just be as simple as, “ I have this space” and the space could be in your guest house, in somebody else’s house or a shed. Theres a project spearheaded by Dominque Frere called Limbo Accra. They’re an organization that has been doing some cool initiatives in Accra, utilizing art and architecture as an access point for a conversation.
Not necessarily asking for permission to do what you feel is important and what’s going to stoke the conversation. It’s about community, being creative, entrepreneurial, and making use of resources that may or may not be there because you can’t necessarily depend on governments for support or grants for support. How do you use your ingenuity to create space for conversations that you think are important?
A.S: I love what’s happening in Accra right now. Its been brewing and now we get to watch it happen. Do you have any upcoming projects that we can look forward to from you?
L.O: I just opened an exhibition last Friday with Ze Palito in New York City called “What You Celebrate With Me”. It’s his first solo show in New York. He’s an Afro-Brazilian artist who lives between Brazil and Baltimore. In July, I’ll be collaborating with Marco Boafo on his first museum show solo. Black folks that’s been traveling from San Francisco at MOAD to Houston with CAM and now to go to the Seattle Art Museum opening on July 13th. Then that exhibition will go to the Denver Art Museum opening on October 8th, I believe. a group show in Brazil, Sao Paulo, called The Speed of Grace, which will be cool. It’ll be my first exhibition in South America and Brazil specifically. So I always got things going on. Then a show in London called Between the Seams of Koki Reddy with Paula and Sven. Those are the next upcoming shows that I’m excited about putting my energy into. Iit’s a variety of artists, artistic approaches, and ideas. I think the public will enjoy it. For those who aren’t able to attend the shows in person, I always encourage them to follow my Instagram page, @LARRY I do my best to do a tour of the exhibition post images, so even if you can’t be there in person, hopefully, the virtual experience gives you a little bit of insight into what we’re aiming to do with the exhibition.
